Dubious Virginia tax advice wrt. long term capital gains.

[ag4486]

Hello,

So I was reading the AARP advice on Virginia income taxes, and I found

What about investment income?

Capital gains in Virginia are taxed as regular income, but taxpayers may deduct any

income that’s taxed as a long-term capital gain for federal income tax purposes. (If you’ve held an asset for more than a year and sell it for a profit, your income is considered a long-term capital gain.)

Taxpayers may also deduct income made from investments in “qualified businesses,” such as those related to agricultural technologies, energy, environmental technology, medical device technology or any similar technology-related field. The business must have its principal facility in Virginia and less than $3 million in annual revenues for the fiscal year preceding the investment.

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I was pretty excited until I read this on the actual Virgina Dept. Of Taxation site:

Long-Term Capital Gains

Income taxed as a long-term capital gain, or any income taxed as investment services partnership income for federal tax purposes is allowed as a subtraction provided the income is attributable to an investment in a "qualified business" as defined in Va. Code § 58.1-339.4 or in any other technology business approved by the Secretary of Technology. Qualified businesses include those related to advanced computing, advanced materials, advanced manufacturing, agricultural technologies, biotechnology, electronic device technology, energy, environmental technology, medical device technology, nanotechnology, or any similar technology related field. The business must have its principal facility in Virginia and less than $3 million in annual revenues for the fiscal year preceding the investment. The investment must be made between the dates of April 1, 2010, and June 30, 2020. Taxpayers claiming the Qualified Equity and Subordinated Debt Credit cannot claim this subtraction relating to investments in the same business. In addition, no investment is "qualified" for this deduction if the business performs research in Virginia on human embryonic stem cells. 

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To me, that reads that you can subtract long term capital gains ONLY IF it's for the "qualified business" in your second paragraph.

I'm not a professional tax person, but if my interpretation is correct, you might want to fix yours...

Regards,

AndyG